Bend Oregon Restaurants

Bend Oregon Restaurants reviewed. I frequent Bend restaurants as often as I can. If you're looking for a place to eat in Bend, Oregon I'll give you my opinion of what I've tried and where you can find it.

3.21.2007

Subway Daily Special

Subway, Bend Oregon

I don't have a standard sandwich that I get every time at Subway. But the daily special is awesome. I was there on Tuesday and the special is the Turkey and Ham. A 6" sandwich for only $2.85...($5.05 if you make it a meal) I can't think of anything wrong with that.

What I find intriguing about Subway is the staff. It's like the UN of the Restaurant industry. That should be there slogan..."Subway, The UN of Your Fast Food Nation". There are members of every race, age, and sex. It's fun to watch how the customers interact with the person serving them. I even have different responses to their questions depending on who is preparing my sandwich.

For the older ladies who are all business I keep my answers short and to the point. With the younger crew I find myself being more of a jokester or will ask stupid questions to try and get a laugh. I pretty much do whatever I have to do in order to get my sandwich just right. To a point.

I like Subway especially when it is not that busy. When it's busy and they have a hold up at the register it gets annoying. The line team is asking what vegi's you want on your sandwich but you're way back at the bread section so you have to raise your voice and talk over everyone in front of you. I like to be in front of the vegi's so I can get exactly what I want and the right amount. Maybe I'm a alone here. Plus I don't want you listening to what I like. It's personal. Don't judge me!

When it's not so rush rush, I think Subway is one of the best deals if you have to go the fast food route. Not just for the money but for the value and the health factor. Look at the napkins for a comparison of your sandwich vs the 39 grams of fat Whopper. Ouch. The marketing material on their napkins is just genius. Plus you get a lesson on Social Studies...all for $2.85!

3.20.2007

Hardy's Freakin' Hot Wings and Hamburgers

Hardy's Coke Wings, Freakin' Hot Wings and a HamburgerAfter our last trip to Hardy's Hot Wings and Hamburgers, we wanted to try the hottest hot wings they offer as well as the Coke wings. We also split a hamburger.

First the burger....soooo NOT worth the money. The burger starts at $7 and can easily go past $10 depending on toppings at $0.75 each for things like cheese and bacon (which should just come standard in my opinion). The burger was really small and just a basic burger. I was not impressed or even pleased with it. I'll stick with wings from now on at Hardy's.Coke Wings - On other blogs I've read as well as a comment from Jen, people really like the Coke Wings. These are wings that have been slathered with Coca Cola syrup. The wife liked them, "not loved them, the honey BBQ is still the best in my book". I did NOT like them! In fact, I hated them. I know I'm in the minority here with these wings but I just did not like the flavor of flat Coke on my wings. It tasted like someone spilled their soda over my dinner, let it sit for a couple hours and then served it up. If I want some hot wings and a Coke, that's completely different than having a Coke ON my wings. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I like dipping my cookies in milk but that doesn't mean I want to have milk flavored cookies. I like root beer floats but I hate root beer flavored ice cream. I like coffee but I hate coffee flavored anything.

You see where I'm going with this? There are exceptions from time to time. I love beer and I really really enjoyed the Stout Ice Cream at the Deschutes Beer Dinner but I had already enjoyed many pints that evening. Maybe that's the secret to these Coke wings. Maybe you all were trashed when you had them? Ok, I'm just teasing now.

Now for the Freakin' Hot Wings....AWESOME! Man, I haven't had a wing this hot in ages. The flavor was great as well...at least for the first wing. After that I just was trying to not have a heart attack. The wife set the timer as we wanted to see how many I could eat in 15 minutes. 88 wings in 15 minutes. I destroyed the first three in about two minutes and had to wait a while for my heart rate to settle and the flames to simmer down a touch on my lips. My mouth literally was on fire. Then as I realized there was no way I could eat 15 in 15 minutes so I slowed it down.

I also started dipping the wings into the most expensive ounce of ranch dressing ever in hopes of the dairy to magically relieve the pain. You'd think they made their ranch with gold dust and keep it under lock and key. I wonder if their ranch is delivered in Armored Trucks. I see the heist scene from Heat as Val Kilmer and Robert De Nero target the Hardy's armored truck as their next big score for selling on the street. Hardy's a player though, he'd buy them back at half the price from Bobby D (yeah, that's what I call him, we're cool like that), claim the loss to collect insurance, and still make out like a bandit. But I'd still have to pay $0.75 an ounce to quench my burning lips from the Freakin' Hot Wings.Anyway, if you like HOT wings, The Freakin Hot Wings at Hardy's are freakin awesome, baby!

3.14.2007

Hardy's Hot Wings & Hamburgers

Hardy's Hot Wings & Hamburgers

Now that March Madness is upon us, it's only fitting to continue the conversation that I have been having with myself as to which restaurant in Bend has the best wings. In my quest to find the best wings I figured I had to try out a place that has hot wings in its name. Makes sense to me.

One of the things to consider when eating a hot wing is the size of the wing. Some places, Cascade Lakes Brewery, buy the smallest little scraps of wings that don't have any meat on them at all. When it comes to wings, size matters (and ONLY with wings, oh and horseshoes).

Another factor to consider is if you are getting winglettes or drumsticks. Some serve all drumsticks like at Deschutes or BBC.

My personal preference is to not have any drumsticks and have a sauce that's as hot as you can get it. The wife actually went out to Hardy's and brought a sampling back to the house. Otherwise I would have had to try their hottest Hot Wings. She even mentioned something about a "Hardy's Hot Wing Challenge" where you have to eat 15 of those wings in 15 minutes. I'll be investigating that really soon.

So on this trip she decided on Honey BBQ, Garlic and Herb, Hot, and Too Hot for the sauces to try out.

Honey BBQ:

Garlic and Herb:

Too Hot and Hot respectively:

I like my chicken spicy so the Too Hot were the ones that I devoured after trying all four. The Honey BBQ was tasty and if it was the only option, I'd get them again. The Garlic Herb were nasty. It's just a weird flavor for a chicken wing. Hot was mild and Too Hot was sort of hot.

Too Hot is about the same as the wings at BBC which I think are just a tad hotter than Deschutes. The flavor was spot on with what a wing should be. I guess on our next trip we have to try the CocaCola wings...I'm not looking forward to it but I'll try em.

Complaint: DO NOT CHARGE FOR RANCH! Charging for dipping sauces is lame. Stop it. Charging for dipping sauces is like charging for soda refills. It's bad mojo, man. $0.75 per side of sauce is just ridiculous. I'd rather have you just charge $0.25 more per order of wings and give me all the damn sauce I want.

3.13.2007

Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room - Spring Beer Dinner

Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room

The wife and I made it to the Deschutes Beer Dinner on Saturday, March 10, 2007. If you enjoy beer and delicious food, this dinner is well worth the $55 a head. I felt like I was part of high society being served a six course meal but then since ever course was paired with beer instead of wine, I felt fine in my jeans. I love "Bend casual".

Pairing food with beer is such a great idea and just as difficult as pairing wine to different dishes (so we were told). I'm not a huge fan of wine and I don't drink enough to know what goes well with which. But I do drink beer and it was amazing to taste the similarities among the ingredients used in the food and it's paired up beer.

When we arrived we got a glass of the UR Alt Bier which was pared up with the Passed Appetizers as well as with the Plated Appetizer.

I was able to snag a couple prawns and one Bruschetta before we sat down. Both were great and I wish I was more aggressive in trying to get more of each. The funny thing about Prosciutto is that it's difficult to bite through especially when perched atop crunchy Bruschetta. It can be a bit awkward having to eat the entire thing in one bite or look silly all hunched over with a beer in one hand, the little cocktail napkin in the other trying to figure out what to do with half a slice of Prosciutto sticking out of your mouth. Unless you're me and just chow the entire appetizer in one bite.

Plated AppetizerAsparagus Cilantro Gazpacho Paired with Alt Bier

UGH...definitely not my cup of tea. I'm glad that we didn't get a photo of this one. Green, cold, asparagus soup. Nothing right about this. I took a few bites and by some miracle, it actually tasted better with every sip of UR Alt that quickly followed.

How much can you say about a salad like this, it's pretty simple. This course was really light and refreshing. I could barely taste the Cucumber Vinaigrette but I love crab. Crab = good. For a little salad, this was nice and just like the rest of the dishes, it went well with the beer. Extra Pale is not a favorite of mine, but they serve in half pints so it was over fast.

Now we're cookin with Crisco! My lamb was just a touch over cooked cause I like it pretty rare. The wife's was just like I wanted so we traded a shank. The Celery Root Puree was a bit different than I'm used to. I was sort of hoping it would magically turn into some garlic mashed potatoes but then it might not have paired with the Buzzsaw as well.

By this time I was feeling pretty...pretty...pretty good. The portions were just right. After all these courses I felt just right, not stuffed but not hungry by any means.

The wife's favorite part of the meal by far! Normally I would simply just slide my plate over to her so she can take whatever she likes. But this time I destroyed the cake and ice cream along with the 11% Stout....whooooo doggy.

Fantastic meal, beers, and experience all around. I loved it and would recommend the dinner to anyone.

Next up is the Barrel Tasting (I think you get to taste what's INSIDE the barrels). I hope there is more food at the Barrel Tasting then there was last year. I might go, might not. Dinner - yes, barrel tasting where you don't get to sit down and enjoy some food - maybe.

3.09.2007

Baldy's BBQ - Chicken Wings

Baldy's BBQ

You can read my review of Baldy's BBQ Ribs but I wanted to dedicate a post to just the Baldy's chicken wings. I like the wings at Deschutes and BBC but man, these wings are just too good. It's only 10am and my mouth is seriously salivating over the thought of these wings.

They aren't too hot but just spicy enough to make you enjoy the coolness received from the ranch or blue cheese or both like me. The wings are soaking in the wing sauce but yet they have a nice crispy exterior. The meat is always juicy and cooked to perfection.

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Baldy's wings. They're GREAT!

So who has the best wings in Bend? I'm thinking about the ones that I have tried and I like different wings at different places for different reasons. Like my Best Burrito in Bend week, I think I may have to do a tour of wings.

3.07.2007

Deschutes Brew Pub - French Dip

Deschutes Brew Pub

Next time you're at the Deschutes brew pub, indulge in one of the least expensive lunch items on the menu, the French Dip. Trust me. Add some cheese like Mozzarella and get your choice of fries, chips, or a salad. I added cheese and had a beer (don't tell the boss) so I thought I'd better go with a salad.

Deschutes is such a great place to hang out with friends and family over a pint of some of the best beer in Bend. Their food is pretty damn good and the prices are acceptable. The pricing is much better ever since they stopped charging an extra dollar for fries and two bucks extra for a salad. Who ever did that anyhow? A salad for two bucks more? HA! Suckers.

Deschutes makes their own bread too man. Oh, the bun on the french dip and on their burgers are so soft its almost wrong. Remember, Fridays, they have chowder as the soup of the day.

You know, I don't know why I tell you these things. I like going there on Fridays. When all you chumps go there (especially you the tourists) it makes the wait for a table almost unbearable. I say almost since I can get a pint as my appetizer and hang out in the bar with fellow locals and watch whatever they have on ESPN behind the bar.

Enjoy!

Deschutes Brew Pub

1044 NW Bond Street, between Franklin and GreenwoodBend, OR 97701541-382-9242

3.01.2007

I'm Tired of McMenamins

McMenamins - Bend Oregon

Man, I try to like that place but it's getting too consistent with the poor service and food quality. Today's special had a Whiskey Chicken Sandwich. Marinated chicken breast with white cheddar, bacon, special sauce, on a potato bun.

Sounded delicious. I ordered mine with fries.

When my lunch arrived I was treated with a chicken breast sandwich with a salad. No cheese, no bacon, no fries.

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